3 ½ stars
Edge of Everything could be the scariest movie you see all year.
It’s not a horror movie. There’s no deranged serial killer, no gore, no body count. There’s a final girl at the end, but she’s nothing like the survivors of cinematic serial killers like Freddie, Jason, or Michael Meyers because she’s not an innocent victim. She’s a 15-year-old teenager named Abby, and she will haunt you more than any horror icon you’ve seen because, unlike the others, she’s real.
Written and directed by Pablo Feldman and Sophia Sabella, Edge of Everything perfectly captures the angst of a young girl or woman on the cusp of childhood or adulthood. As the film opens, we meet Abby (Sierra McCormick) walking dazedly through her house at her mother’s wake, surrounded by adults with whom she feels no connection. She’s numb, sad, and angry, with no outlet for her emotions, and the filmmakers do a great job of making the audience feel the pressure building inside of her.
Edge of Everything is a masterclass in emotional storytelling. Feldman and Sabella have created an immersive world that will make your heart race, regardless of personal experiences. Whether you’re a parent of a teenager or someone who grew up in the most idyllic situation, you will find yourself waiting with bated breath for Abby’s next move.
While the situations Abby finds herself drawn to are every parent’s nightmare, they come to life in Edge of Everything because of McCormick’s audacious performance. The actress, who was 26 when she made the movie, has the uncanny ability to embody all the turmoil a 15-year-old girl like Abby is going through physically and emotionally. McCormick captures not only the angry young woman voice that all teenagers seem to adopt at that age but also the physicality from how Abby walks or stands to the myriad emotions that move across her face like clouds racing across the sky on a potentially stormy day. From scene to scene, moment to moment, you don’t know whether to reach out and hug Abby or shake her (gently) until she snaps out of it. And it’s all organic: McCormick’s performance is a tour de force that will keep you on the edge of your seat, making you feel every emotion pummeling her young being.
The cast surrounding McCormick is a mixed bag. Ryan Simpkins is haunting as Caroline, the bad girl who sweeps Abby away from her sheltered life, and Sabina Friedman-Seitz is almost as spooky as Abby’s icy stepmom, Leslie. Jason Butler Harner is much less effective as Abby’s milquetoast father, David, and the trio of goody-goody friends that surround her (Emily Robinson, Dominique Gayle, and Nadezhda Amé) are too generic. Anthony Del Negro is distressing as Dylan, the predatory cashier at the amusement arcade where Abby celebrates her 15th birthday.
